Initial Osculation
by Cave Canis
Summary: Spock has no experience in human relationships. True to form he studies the scientific data on some of the more interesting activities humans enjoy before attempting them. Disclaimer: Sadly, I own none of these characters.


**TITLE:** Initial Osculation

**AUTHOR:** Cave Canis  
**FANDOM:** Spock Uhura  
**GENRES:** Romance  
**DISCLAIMER****: **I don't any of these characters.

**PAIRINGS:** Spock/Uhura;

**WARNINGS: **A little hot, so PG 13

**A/NOTES:** This is a little something I came up with after reading an article in the Scientific American this month. OK, OK, I AM a geek. So please forgive my poor offering. Subtitle song lyrics: As Time Goes By. See A/n notes at the end for more info.

Initial Osculation

"The Fundamental things apply…"

"_Human lips possess the slimmest layer of skin on the body and are the most densely populated with sensory neurons. _

_These neurons, with those in the tongue and mouth, transmit data to the brain and body triggering strong sensations and intense emotions as well as physical reactions during a kiss." _

Spock had noticed the article citation in another journal article on a totally unrelated subject. For some reason it caught his eye and he indulged himself some frivolous reading before he turned out the light. The article continued.

"_Five of the twelve cranial nerves at work during kissing impart information on temperature, taste, smell and movement to the somatosensory cortex where tactile response is located, stimulating the sensory homonucleus."_

"Very interesting," he thought. He was not aware of this being a trait shared with Vulcan biochemistry. He read on.

"_Kissing can cause a rise in activity in the right ventral tegmental area and the right caudate nucleus through the release of large amounts of dopamine."_

While he had no reason to disbelieve the scholars who wrote the article, he had never experienced anything tangible in those areas of his brain when his mother kissed him as a child. And no one else had ever kissed him. While the vast majority of Earth's inhabitants practiced kissing, something he had personally observed many times since arriving at Starfleet, Vulcans did not share an interest in the custom.

He continued to read.

"_The human visceral system responds to the brain chemicals released in kissing with a rising the pulse rate, dilating the pupils of the eye and a deepening of breathing. Often this is accompanied by a retreat of rational thought and an increase in desire."_

This _retreat of rational thought_ was again something he had seen on more than once occasion when he inadvertently came upon two unsuspecting students engaged in mutual osculation. Without warning a fleeting image of one Lt. N. Uhura leapt into his mind and disappeared as quickly.

"_Kissing also conveys subconscious information about genetic compatibility and may play a role in the progressions of a partnership, though the brains of females and males interpret this information differently." _

Again with no precursor, he thought of Lt. Uhura. And this time the image lingered and included the whole of her face and the way she displayed a smile.

"_Males appear to use kissing as a means to advance to the next level sexually and females use the data to assess the male's potential to take the relationship to the next level emotionally."_

Spock wondered about the "_next level sexually_" and what that would be, exactly, specifically, with Lt. Uhura. Though he understood the biomechanics it was the specific action and movement with which he was unfamiliar.

"_When kissing, most humans tilt their heads to the right. This may convey more passion as it exposes the left cheek which is directly affected by the right half of the brain where more emotional activity is generated and stored." _

"Fascinating," remarked Cmdr. Spock. This time he invoked her image, specifically the left side of her neck where the carotid artery traversed from clavical to just up under her ear.

He saw in his mind her life energy as it coursed along that delicate path. It made his mouth dry to think of touching her there, of letting his lips press against her, feeling the blood pulse under them. She had a definite smell too, one that had become so familiar that even in her absence he could recall it to mind. He contemplated the balance of her features and the grace with which she moved through terran gravity making her seem at times more Vulcan than human. Except for her hips…

He had noticed just recently that her hips had a particular way of moving from side to side when she walked, rather like the large felines at the San Francisco Zoological Park.

Spock concluded reading the journal entry on human sexuality and shut out the light. He lay on his back, finding a need to return to a meditative state to achieve sleep.

He saw Uhura ahead of him on the moving walkway between the Physics building from which he had just exited, and the monorail platform for off campus travel. Seeing an opportunity to catch up with her, he started walking faster. In a few strides he was perhaps 20 feet behind her and once he thought he caught her scent of jasmine and sandalwood in the air in front of him.

The walkway came to an end at a solid platform from which many monorail trains were departing and arriving under clear canopies at several tracks. She walked down the line and stood under a sign that read, "Divisadero.' He called to her loud enough he hoped she heard him.

"Lt. Uhura!" She turned and looked around for the source of the hail, her chin slightly raised, her long pony tail still swaying from the turning of her head. He lifted his hand to get her attention.

In the seconds before their eyes made contact he watched her almost in slow motion and thought perhaps she was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. Though he was unaccustomed to thinking along these threads, if he was truthful, she moved him. She caught his glance and smiled.

"Cmdr. Spock!" He walked to her side and they stepped out of the que forming to disembark. She was surprised at his stopping her.

"Lt. I saw you were leaving campus and thought I'd catch up with you." She looked at him in anticipation. "I thought we might talk and perhaps have a cup of tea or something else if you like." He looked around and noticed that several students were looking at them. Clearly they needed to step away from the crowd. He nodded to her to follow him but did not touch her.

They walked to the far edge of the platform where it was nearly empty. They stood facing one another so that his back was toward the crowd.

Without warning she put her hand on his face and stood on tiptoe kissing him full on his mouth. He could feel his pulse rising and his heart rate increasing almost immediately. He started to open his lips to her even though he hadn't intended to respond. But something inside him began pounding. A "ding, ding, ding" went off in his head.

He sat bolt upright, fully awake when he heard the chimes of his alarm going off.

It took him a moment to realize he had been dreaming.

It was logical that his human side would respond to human females in some way. What was not known to him, or to anyone else, was to what degree he would be able to control those feelings along with the myriad of other emotions he was expected to suppress. He was the first human/vulcan hybrid and as such was a walking experiment of both species.

Though the pursuit of knowledge and impassivity of emotion were the driving forces in a Vulcan's life, Spock knew that his mixed genetics made his response to someone like Lt. Uhura at the very least, unpredictable.

He arose and prepared for another day of work without allowing himself more consideration of his dream or his growing interest in Lt. Uhura.

Uhura saw Spock from time to time on campus like today when she him in the distance walking from one building to another across the quad. She noticed how he carried himself lightly and moved with an elegance that made her wonder if Vulcans danced. She conjured in her mind an image of him gliding across the floor of a ballroom where ancient dances from the 20th century were still performed on special occasions. The idea of it made her giggle. Cmdr. Spock? Dancing? Wouldn't that require some kind of emoting or something? Illogical! She said to herself smiling.

But there was no denying that he had some kind of magnetism which worked on her. The Vulcan commander was the topic of conversations among some of the students from time to time. That afternoon in the student mess hall as she approached a few other cadets eating lunch, she overheard one of them talking.

"He is so hot. It's the deep thinkers that are the best in bed."

"No way. He's kind of creepy I think," said a blonde cadet. Uhura sat down and started eating the cheese sandwich she'd ordered smothered in jalapeno peppers.

"Who so hot?" she asked. The first cadet answered.

"Spock. Don't you think so?" Uhura paused before she answered.

"I don't think about it," she lied. "He's just different."

"Definitely different," said the blonde cadet. The first cadet pouted.

"Well I think he's hot." Uhura looked down at her cheese sandwich. She was beginning to think so too.

The weekends at Starfleet could be raucous or subdued depending on the academic calendar. At the moment they were in mid semester and everyone was seriously studying for upcoming mid terms.

For Uhura it was a rather relaxing period. She always kept up with her work and as a nearly 4.0 student she didn't suffer from the maniacal last minute forays into writing or reading as many of her contemporaries.

With nothing really pressing, she decided to go see a film at one of the restored movie theaters near campus. The one she had visited previously and liked had a Wednesday night showing of ancient foreign films. Tonight the offering was a film called _La Belle et le Bate'_ (_Beauty and the Beast) _by an early 20th century French filmmaker named Jean Cocteau. In the description she'd read, a young woman named Belle is traded to a half man half beast in exchange for her father's life. Though she fears the beast, over time she grows to love him and in the end she chooses life with the beast over going home to her family. It sounded good from the description and she always liked films in French.

She walked to the edge of campus and then followed a side street till she came up on the more populated thoroughfare where restaurants, cafes, club and boutiques took up most of the real estate. The theater was midway down the block.

Just as she crossed the street another figure crossed from the other direction. Without a sound he walked up beside her and spoke.

"Lt. Uhura." She jumped at the sound of his voice. It was Spock.

"Cmdr. Spock, what are you doing down in this part of town."

"I wanted to see the film showing here this evening," he said gesturing to the marquee atop the theater.

"_Beauty and the Beast_? I'm going to see that too."

"Perhaps we can sit together and enjoy the film," he suggested as they came to main entrance. He stepped up to the box office window manned by an attractive redhead.

"Two tickets please," he said. Uhura tried to protest but he ignored her until the transaction was completed.

Uhura considered that it was a good thing she liked him or she'd have been a bit put out with his Vulcan chauvinistic little thing going on there.

She observed him standing in line for the tickets. He was dressed in civilian clothing that was loose fitting and looked comfortable. She couldn't recall having seen him in anything but a uniform before. There was much to learn about this man. She was beginning to think she didn't understand the Vulcan at all.

During the movie Uhura sat rapt at the moving images across the screen. She had seen movies before of course, but they never failed to mesmerize her. It went beyond her own imagination that anyone could think up the plots, the camera angles, the individual shots and the stories themselves. And that actors could represent someone else's idea of the story and then make that seem as if it was they themselves that made it happen. They were a kind of modern magic for her in a world where so much of life was dominated by super technology and science.

Out of the corner of her eye she watched Spock to see what his reaction was to the overly romantic and fairy-tale like plot. He was so still she never could get a read on what he might have been thinking. But at one point she saw in her peripheral vision that he had raised his eyebrow at something. She would try to remember to ask him afterward.

The movie ended and the house lights came up. She stood to leave and he followed suit.

"What did you think of it?" she asked as they went through the exit doors.

"I thought it was a highly interesting method of conveying a piece of fiction," he replied easily.

"You mean the movie itself?"

"Yes. There is nothing like it on Vulcan. Instead we have live theater plays similar to the ones here on Earth." They continued to chat informally about theater and movies as they walked down the street past several shops and cafes. His normal quietude was lifted this evening and replaced with casual conversation.

He seemed relaxed and not as formal or stiff as she had thought in the times they had seen one another on campus. She guessed it was the location, being away from the Academy that made the difference. They passed a coffee shop and he stopped in front of it.

"Would you care for a beverage? I believe I have noted that you often drink the liquid steeped from ground, roasted beans of the coffee plant. She almost laughed out loud but thought it was sweet that he had noticed.

"Well sure. I'd love to," she replied. They went inside and she ordered for them. He protested at first but she insisted he have something too. She furrowed her brow in consternation over what to order for him then decided on something not so intense as coffee.

"We'll have two chai teas please," she said to the barista. Spock produced his card to pay for the teas. "Hey, wait a minute. I'll get these. Maybe you could pick out a place for us to sit."

"Thank you Lieutenant. It would be my pleasure to locate seating." Uhura stared after him as he walked outside and studied the empty tables along the sidewalk. He finally selected one and stood by it, ostensibly waiting for her to arrive with the teas.

"This is good," she said nodding to the table. She handed him a cup of chai tea and they sat down at the small table on the outer edge of the café space.

"Thank you very much," he sipped the drink very tentatively. Then he almost smiled.

"Do you like it?" she asked. "It's called chai."

"Ah, a drink consumed by many people in the middle eastern region of Earth if I am not mistaken," he added, "Yes it tastes fine." Uhura sipped her drink for a moment.

"What types of beverages are enjoyed on your home planet?" she said in near perfect Vulcan. Surprised, Spock raised an eyebrow but answered smoothly.

"In the region of my home, several very pleasant spice teas are often consumed. I will make you a cup one day and you can taste for yourself."

He had answered in the Vulcan dialect of that region, with which Uhura was not as familiar. She thought he had asked her to tea, but decided it must be something else.

The frown that creased her brow caused him to reply again, this time in English, which he seldom spoke. He felt an obligation to offer a reply in her native tongue as a display of respect for her speaking Vulcan to him.

"I would be pleased to make a cup of Vulcan spice tea for you some time."

Uhura found the cadence of his words musical and he spoke sotto voce, inclining his head slightly toward the right and making full eye contact. Something like a smile creased his mouth but perhaps it was more the contrast of his usual stoic visage that made her think so.

"Id' like that," she said and sipped her chai. He was a weird guy for sure. But there was something intriguing about him and something very genteel and old fashioned.

They walked back to campus via the quadrangle around which most of the dormitories and classroom buildings stood. He spoke first.

"Lt. Uhura, I have enjoyed our evening. I thank you for including me."

"Cmdr. Spock, I enjoyed it very much too."

"Perhaps we can do this again sometime in the future," he said almost hesitating before he spoke. "A movie or a meal…"

"That would be great. Just let me know," she replied noting his almost bashful way of looking at her when he was speaking.

For the first time Uhura felt that maybe Spock wasn't so sure of himself as he seemed and was even a little shy. It hadn't occurred to her before because he was always so perfectly prepared and answered every question put to him with ease.

If what little she knew about Vulcans was correct, they relied on logic not emotion to govern their lives, though admittedly her knowledge of them was seriously lacking. But she couldn't deny that she was very curious and wished she knew more about him.

It was the following Friday when Spock ran into Uhura again outside class. She was coming in the linguistics building as he was leaving but she waited outside the door for him.

"Cmdr. Spock, I'm glad I ran into you. I was coming up to your office to see you."

"Lt. Uhura, my office hours were over 9.4 minutes ago. I am sorry." She looked so disappointed he reconsidered. "But if there is something I can do for you…"

"I was coming to ask you if you'd like to watch a movie with me. I'm finished with my midterms and everyone else is out partying," she said a little breathless. "I just didn't want to go with them… But, if you're busy…" she stopped mid-sentence.

Spock noticed she was slightly flushed and the seemed a bit anxious. He had no desire to make her feel such anxiety so he responded quickly.

"I would be very pleased to watch a movie with you, Lt. if that would restore you to a calmer state of mind. Would you like to attend the film theater where we went last week?" She smiled and he felt a quick spike in his heart rate.

"I was thinking," she replied, "that if you didn't object we could watch it in your quarters on disc instead of having to go out. I'd say we could watch in my dorm but it's pretty noisy on a weekend night. I have a roommate who parties till all hours."

"That would be agreeable Lt. I'll expect you this evening then?" he replied. Uhura nodded yes and heard the chimes from the bell tower alerting everyone to the time.

"Oh, my class… Yes, I'll be there at 10-hundred," she quickly walked away from him smiling. She was half way across the quad when she turned and looked back at him and smiled again. He realized then that he'd been standing in the same spot watching her walk away. He had to admit that there was something about the way her hips moved as she walked that was attractive to him.

She arrived on time and bearing the gift of a disc with several old movies on it. He was somewhat anxious about having her in his quarters. In the several years he had lived in this space not many people had visited him. He was a private person who liked solitude and until recently he had not missed the company of others in his off time.

He had showered and changed into civilian clothing suitable for entertaining guests, and as was his custom, he was barefooted. He poured the hot water into a receptacle and was extracting various amounts of three different spices from a cloth bag when the door chimes sounded. He spoke, "Come," and the door wisped open.

"Welcome Lt. I am making our Vulcan spice tea as promised." She came across the room inhaling the scent of the unusual spices filling the room. She couldn't name them but they were delicious in her nostrils. She couldn't wait to see if they produced the same pleasure in her mouth.

Spock looked over at her and pointed to her feet. She saw a pair of boots and low shoes by the door and quickly understood. She kicked off her sandals and put them on the tray beside his boots, shrugging an apology. She walked over to the counter where he stood preparing the tea.

"Oh my gods, that smells wonderful!" she exclaimed. Spock looked up from the teapot where he had just poured the water over the spiced leaves.

"It does have a pleasing aroma does it not? He put the lid on the pot and set it aside. "May I offer you something to eat?" She shook her head 'no' and took the disc from her bag.

"Here's the movie. It's an early American film called _Casablanca_. I hope it's good."

They settled into two comfortable chairs in the living area of Spock's quarters and watched the 90 minute film on the large view screen built into the wall saying little except to comment on various bits about the plot or the photography.

Spock diverted his mind from the images on the screen from time to time throughout the film. His mind kept coming back to the article he had read on human osculation. He recognized the limitations of his human experience and wished to enhance his knowledge. He wanted to ask Lt. Uhura for assistance, but was cognizant of a certain illogical reluctance on his part to broach the subject even though they had become comfortable around one another over the past few months.

Nevertheless, when the film was complete, he decided that the moment was now or perhaps not ever.

"Lt. Uhura. May I ask something of you?"

"Yes. Cmdr. Of course?"

"I would first ask that you address me as Spock. I believe our friendship has developed to the point where in private we can dispense with the formalities of rank or status. Would you agree?"

"I do and you may please call me Nyota." He had seen her first name printed but he had never heard it pronounced aloud. The sound of it was a riddle disguised within a breath. For someone who spent his life unraveling riddles it was a very aesthetically pleasing sound.

"I have been reading about human osculation," he said almost casually. Uhura didn't choke but she held the tea in her mouth for a second before swallowing. Was he coming on to her? Before she could answer that, he said, "There are some things I don't understand."

"Kissing? I can't believe you are asking me about kissing."

"Why? Should I not? As a human activity it seems quite common. Approximately 6,115,574,306 humans perform this ritual regularly. Yet the chemistry behind this human trait is like nothing with which I am familiar." He paused then added, "Vulcans do not kiss."

"Vulcans…do…not…kiss," she said looking intently into his eyes, her voice drifting away as she processed this thought. Then she said brightly, "Right. Well OK, you've been really patient with my stupid questions about Vulcan. I guess this is a fair trade."

"A fair trade?" I fail to see how my interest in human biology compares to a mercantile transaction." Then he added, "Of course if you would prefer not to discuss this subject you have only to ask as we are… friends."

"No, it's OK," she said, "I'll try to answer your questions." But she did wonder as he looked straight into her eyes what he might be about to ask.

"I believe we should stand." He stood up so she did too. He clasped his hands behind his back in a posture she had observed many times.

"May I touch you?" he first asked. She nodded before she realized what he was going to do.

"_Human lips possess the slimmest layer of skin on the body and are the most densely populated with sensory neurons. _

He leaned toward her face and for a moment only looked into her eyes as if he would read something there. Then he lowered his face and pressed his lips against hers very lightly. He held them there for a second or two, then his mouth left hers and he raised his head, still looking into her eyes.

Nyota didn't know if he felt anything or not but she certainly felt something in that fleeting gesture. Her stomach experienced a sudden tickle.

Spock too felt a sensation he could not described logically. It was somewhat like the physical reaction one had when changing elevation quickly and it centered in his lower abdomen. It was not unpleasant, only unexpected.

He decided to repeat the kiss, and this time he applied a little more pressure on her mouth which opened the smallest bit when their lips came in contact.

Uhura could taste the tea he had drunk just inside his lips. She couldn't help breathing in. His lips were soft and the kiss was free of guile.

"_These neurons, with those in the tongue and mouth, transmit data to the brain and body triggering strong sensations and intense emotions as well as physical reactions during a kiss." _

He wasn't sure if her heart rate had climbed with the touch of their lips the second time but he was aware that his own heart rate had increased. As the kiss ended Uhura seemed to be in suspended animation. She felt a warm flush spread across her shoulders.

He stood looking at her, his face expressing something like amazement.

"_Five of the twelve cranial nerves at work during kissing impart information on temperature, taste, smell and movement to the somatosensory cortex where tactile response is located, stimulating the sensory homonucleus."_

To this point only their lips had touched, her arms rested at her sides and his were still clasped behind his back. Uhura shut her eyes and sighed placing her right hand on his left clavical just below his neck. She didn't care if Vulcans didn't like to be touched. He shouldn't kiss like this if he didn't want to be touched.

"_The human visceral system responds to the brain chemicals released in kissing with a rising the pulse rate, dilating the pupils of the eye and a deepening of breathing."_

Spock leaned into her touch and felt it, tangibly course through his chest. His breathing deepened and he kissed her again, this time with more intensity. He unclasped his hands and brought them forward.

"_Often this is accompanied by a retreat of rational thought and an increase in desire." _Spock could feel his own rational thought slipping away.

Uhura moved closer to him pressing her body along his. Without consciously changing his stance, Spock put his arm around her waist and pulled her slightly up and into his body. She let her hand drift up from his collarbone to his neck.

He responded to this touch with a stronger kiss, exploring her mouth with his tongue in tiny swirling touches. She opened her mouth to receive him and he kissed her with an abandon he didn't know was possible for his kind.

Uhura allowed the tip of her finger to barely trace around the outside of his ear and felt a shudder go through him, a small moan of pleasure escaping his lips the beginnings of an erection the result of his arousal.

"_Males appear to use kissing as a means to advance to the next level sexually and females use the data to assess the male's potential to take the relationship to the next level emotionally."_

Instantly he was completely aware of his actions, his hands, his mouth and the rest of his body which was responding to the kiss. This was no longer a piece of empirical study. He pulled out of the embrace his breathing ragged.

Uhura opened her eyes and gazed at Spock whose face held a look of someone completely stunned.

"Spock! What?" She could tell he was trying to regain his composure. She wasn't sure what had happened but she suspected he had reached a Vulcan emotional system overload or something. She had felt the "rush" too, no doubt about that. He stepped away from her a few inches, his eyes downcast as if he couldn't look at her. A few seconds passed before he spoke.

"My deepest apologies Nyota," he said turning away from her. Then he continued, "Living on a planet which is not my home, I could sequester myself away and refuse to learn anything of human behavior. But instead I choose to study and learn." He turned back toward her, "But I did not intend…." He was clearly distressed about something.

"Spock," she reached out to touch his arm but he deftly moved it aside. "I don't understand why you are upset." He raised his eyes to make contact with hers. She continued, "I liked it. Didn't you?"

"But I became sexually aroused." He looked as close to upset as Uhura had ever seen him.

"So did I," she said softly. It felt good didn't it?"

"I did experience pleasure but in an unfamiliar way." She was glad he wasn't suddenly turned off by kissing her.

"It's normal to feel good. You know… sort of excited," she said. She was trying to be casual. She hoped he wouldn't pull away and become the stranger he had been when they first met. "So what do you want to do?"

He was trying to regain his composure and his logic. He raised one eyebrow and for a moment he seemed lost in thought. The smallest smile came across his face.

"Perhaps I need to verify my findings."

"As Time Goes By"

music and words by Herman Hupfeld

[This day and age we're living in  
Gives cause for apprehension  
With speed and new invention  
And things like fourth dimension.

Yet we get a trifle weary  
With Mr. Einstein's theory.  
So we must get down to earth at times  
Relax relieve the tension

And no matter what the progress  
Or what may yet be proved  
The simple facts of life are such  
They cannot be removed.]

You must remember this  
A kiss is just a kiss, a sigh is just a sigh.  
The fundamental things apply  
As time goes by.

And when two lovers woo  
They still say, "I love you."  
On that you can rely  
No matter what the future brings  
As time goes by.

Moonlight and love songs  
Never out of date.  
Hearts full of passion  
Jealousy and hate.  
Woman needs man  
And man must have his mate  
That no one can deny.

It's still the same old story  
A fight for love and glory  
A case of do or die.  
The world will always welcome lovers  
As time goes by.

Oh yes, the world will always welcome lovers  
As time goes by.

© 1931 Warner Bros. Music Corporation, ASCAP


End file.
